On the surface, it's a small race. At stake are two seats for
the Vermont House of Representatives from District 5, which includes
Putney, Dummerston and Westminister West. Three Democrats are running
- incumbents David Deen and Michael Mrowicki and former state Rep.
Steve Darrow.

There's been angry talk of whisper campaigns. Signs have
popped up on lawns all over the district. People are writing
emotional letters to the paper supporting or excoriating their
favorite candidates - and a few of those letter skirt dangerously
close to libel.

Here are some excerpts; see if you can spot a theme:

"(Deen and Mrowicki) are two people who genuinely like each
other and can work together and with others in Montpelier. The same
can not be said of the 14 years that preceded... David Deen and Mike
Mrowicki are approachable, friendly and nonthreatening."

And on the other hand:

"Steve's numerous articles on energy ... and his votes and
positions taken while as a representative... makes him highly
qualified to deal with Vermont's energy problems. He has the smarts
to see through the self-serving machinations of (Entergy Nuclear)
Vermont Yankee... We need somebody who will not be bamboozled by an
energy lobby."

The race's subtext - likeability versus hard-edged competence
with complex issues - has caught my interest. It's a perfect example
of 21st Century American politics - do we elect the glad-handed,
hail-fellow-well-met guy, the guy who has adopted "building
relationships" as his middle name? Or the guy who might be thought a
little bit odd, but who has energy policy running like blood through
his veins?

Remember, America elected President George W. Bush because he was the guy they wanted to have a beer with. Look where that got us.

Of the three candidates, Deen is probably a shoo-in. He's the
steward of our precious Connecticut River watershed. He's walked the
walk and fished the fish. He's deeply respected as well as liked.
He's wonky as hell, but his expertise and heart are needed.

It's the other two, Darrow and Mrowicki, who are really
competing. Darrow had been a state legislator for 14 years when he
got into trouble with some people in his district for reasons that no
one has yet made clear or public - at least to me. Suffice it to say,
a group went on the warpath and recruited Mrowicki to run against
him. Mrowicki won. Now Deen and Mrowicki are running as a team, and
Darrow is trying to regain his seat.

The most important issue is Vermont Yankee, Windham County's
old and crumbling nuclear power plant. All three men want to see it
closed, and it was designed to be shut down in 2012. But its owners,
Entergy Nuclear, are applying for a 20-year extension. Worse, there
isn't enough money in the decommissioning fund to close the site down
properly. Worse, Entergy is trying to spin off Yankee into a separate
shell company that will allow it to duck responsibility in case of
emergency. And worst of all, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans,
this multi-billion-dollar industry claimed immediate bankruptcy for
its Louisiana power company and walked away. Didn't even glance back.

This is not the kind of corporation you want to do business
with, and the fact that our governor is in Entergy's pocket does not
make for a warm and fuzzy feeling. Up in the northern part of the
state, despite Mrowicki's warm relationships, few people care about
Yankee. But most of District 5 is in the evacuation zone and a lot of
worried people live here. It's going to take guts and smarts to
checkmate Entergy, if it's even possible.

Then there's global warming, the need for alternative fuel
supplies, peak oil, energy efficiency, universal health care,
repairing the infrastructure, finding a way to support
entrepreneurial businesses and protecting the environment.

Mrowicki, a warm and funny human services guy, says Darrow
would be a one-issue representative. Darrow says that in the
Legislature you have to specialize, and everything comes down to
energy anyway. "Energy is not one issue," he wrote recently. "Energy
is the overriding issue that affects everything."

Mrowicki may have built strong relationships in the House,
but to what avail? In the past four years, the House has been
spectacularly ineffective. The governor has turned the Legislature
into his bitches.

The Lege passes a bill, the guv vetoes it, the Lege can't
override the veto. Over and over again. When, exactly, do these
hallowed relationships come into play?

Almost everyone who visits the Legislature comments on how
much like high school it is. It's very clubby. Mrowicki, I'm afraid
to say, gives the impression that he wants to take it to a new level
and turn it into a frat party.

During this week's debate, Darrow offered creative energy
ideas: taking by eminent domain the hydroelectric dams on the
Connecticut and Deerfield rivers (we lost the chance to buy them
thanks to the governor), retrofitting the flood control dams, and
using wind. Mrowicki offered platitudes like wanting to "give voice
to the voiceless." He offered a quote about people being good from
Anne Frank - as if snagging a seat in the House is comparable to
losing your life in a concentration camp.

Constituent service is a necessary part of the job, and
Darrow could certainly improve his people skills. He could mend his
bridges with Deen. He could improve his secretarial skills - he
missed the filing deadline and has to run as a write-in candidate.
But he's comfortable with the complexities of policy and isn't afraid
to ask unpopular questions. He doesn't go along to get along.

We're dealing with a big-business governor who's been in
politics for 35 years. He employs people who don't play nice, and
they know every trick in the book. Turn the other cheek and they'll
just whack it.

So take Mrowicki out for a beer and send Darrow back to the
House.

A collection of Joyce Marcel's columns, "A Thousand Words or Less,"
is available through joycemarcel.com. And write her at
joycemarcel@yahoo.com.